


Blue Bird

by ziio



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brainwashing, Gen, Genji loves his brother, Hanzo Shimada has Prosthetic Legs, Hurt Hanzo Shimada, Hurt/Comfort, Jesse McCree & Genji Shimada Are Best Friends, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Torture, Post-Dragons (Overwatch), Post-Recall, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Genji Shimada, Protective Jesse McCree, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:01:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24112474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziio/pseuds/ziio
Summary: When Genji told him to meet him at his safe house he expected the man to show up with maybe a blown off arm, faulty wiring, maybe a hesitant Genji telling him he had a secret love child or something. What he didn't expect was Genji to show up with his brother bleeding on his doorstep.
Relationships: Genji Shimada & Hanzo Shimada, Jesse McCree & Genji Shimada, Jesse McCree & Hanzo Shimada, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada
Comments: 88
Kudos: 335





	1. Sign

Everyone in Overwatch has their own safe house. Jesse’s not sure if it’s some unwritten law in the member handbook, but it’s true. They all have at least one safe home far from the base, and some even have a few dotted around the world. He supposed it could be born of necessity, but then Overwatch itself has its own safe houses in more than a few parts of the world. Maybe it comes with being a part of a top secret organisation. 

He doesn’t use his own safe house except for emergencies, though he’s pretty sure the situation he’s in now qualifies as one. Only he and Genji know it’s location, both having used it a ton of times when they were young and reckless in Blackwatch. He remembers _distinctly_ telling Genji he could use his safe house any time. Of course, that’s what a good friend says to an even better friend.

He does _not_ remember telling Genji he could bring international terrorists and kin killers to his humble abode at any time though, which leads him to their current predicament. Genji, in all his robotic glory, is standing at his door after having been on a mission for the past three months. When Genji called him and told him he needed to meet him at the safe house, he expected the half-robot to show up with maybe a blown off arm, faulty wiring, or a secret love child or something. Instead, he has Hanzo Shimada in tow.

“Well, partner, outta all the things I was expectin’ this sure takes the cake,” Jesse says, carefully keeping his voice light and airy.

Genji aside, the man, who Jesse is about a thousand percent sure is his terrorist brother, looks as if he’s ready to flee at any given time. His eyes dart nervously from Genji to Jesse, his entire body tensed like a coiled spring.

“Jesse, Jesse, may we come in please?” asks Genji. 

Jesse is a little anxious because that does _not_ sound like the Genji he knows. His voice lacks confidence, as if he thinks Jesse’s going to turn him away at any moment. It’s a bit hard not to be offended by that; honestly, Jessie would probably let Genji bring Reaper to his safe house if his reasons were good enough. 

Jessie couldn’t help but see how Genji stands in front of Hanzo. His entire body was tensed, defensive, as if he’s somehow keeping his brother safe from Jesse, of all people. That just _won’t_ do, after all, Jesse doesn’t think he’s a violent man, at least not without good reason. From the look of the dried blood and dirt on Genji and his brother, though, they ain’t had too many recent encounters with ‘reasonable’ men.

Jesse steps back to allow them inside, extending his hands in a universal greeting of ‘come on in.’

Genji goes to move in but Hanzo stays stuck on the porch, his eyes darting to the inside of the house as if his own death awaits him. ‘ _Ouch’_ , Jesse didn’t think his safe house was _that bad_.

“Aniki, this is my friend I told you about. He’s going to help us, okay? It’s alright, you can trust him.” Genji talks gently, as if he’s trying to convince a feral cat. Considering how Hanzo’s acting, it seems appropriate.

Hanzo takes a tentative step inside the house, and Jesse backs up, giving the man plenty of breathing space. Under the bright lights of the living room, Jesse can now clearly see the two brothers. Genji doesn’t look _that_ worse for wear, and his robotic suit is more scuffed than actually damaged. The dried blood caked on the suit clearly isn’t his, and Jesse is not ashamed to breathe a sigh of relief at the sight.

Hanzo is an entirely different story. He’s wearing a jacket that’s much too big for him; it’s dirty and worn, and Jesse is pretty sure they stole it from some poor beggar off the street. Under the jacket is a torn Gi with blood soaked into the fabric. 

“Are you hurt?” Genji asks worriedly, quickly looking his brother up and down.

Jesse swears he sees an exasperated look pass over the archer's face, but it’s gone almost before it arrives. 

“This blood is not all my own.” says Hanzo, short and to the point, and while yeah, the blood _is_ important, bruises and cracked ribs matter too.

“Cracked ribs? Broken bones? I think that’s covered in the ‘are you hurt’ part,” Jesse quips playfully. Turns out that was the wrong thing to say. Hanzo stiffens at the sound of Jesse’s voice, unconsciously leaning behind Genji.

Genji takes that as his cue to step in. The ninja moves his hand to his mask, removing it with a ‘ _click’_. The face revealed behind the mask looks worn out, tired beyond comparison, but Jesse can see relief in his eyes. It’s taking every ounce of willpower for Jesse to not ask just what the hell is going on, instead of just rolling with the flow.

“Still beautiful under the mask as always, Gen,” he says, “though you've yet to introduce your companion here.”

“Jesse, this is my brother, Hanzo,” Genji says as if it pains him. Jesse knows Genji understands the implications of having his brother here and not, say, in a prison cell or an interrogation room.

“Hanzo? As in Hanzo Shimada, wanted international terrorist and member of Talon Hanzo?” Jesse chuckles, “Well, Genji, you sure know how to spice up a cowboys evening. I’ll give ya’ that.”

Jesse knows full well that Genji’s gotta have a good reason for bringing his brother to his safe house. Something on the basis of more than just blood. Last time he talked to Genji, he had been desperate to find his brother and bring him to Overwatch, not Jesse’s safehouse. _Something_ must have happened.

“How about we sit down, and you explain... well, everything,” Jesse suggests. He knows, regardless of the explanation he’s gonna get, that he’s in this for the long haul. His part had been decided the minute he met Genji at the safe house.

Genji leads Hanzo to the living room couch, and Hanzo looks the picture of a cow headed to slaughter. “It’s alright, you’re safe here. I promise you.”

Jesse doesn’t know if Genji should be making such promises seeing as he has a murderous terrorist in tow, but hey, anything to calm the man down he’s supposed. Hanzo’s eyes still dart around as if someone’s going to come out the shadows any minute and take him away. Genji sits gingerly on the couch while Hanzo’s sitting as if he’s ready to flee at any moment, and Jesse supposes that’s the best they can expect from the man.

Genji frets once more over his brother, checking to make sure the man isn’t seriously injured. 

“Your legs-” he presses, but is interrupted by a harsh shake of Hanzo’s head.

“I will manage,” Hanzo says, guardedly. Jesse briefly wonders what’s wrong with the archers legs for Genji to be so concerned about them, the metal shoes entrapping them didn’t look damaged, more scuffed and scraped. 

“I’m sure everybody’s tired, so how about we just go with the short version, yeah? I can do the short version for now.” Jesse is kind enough to realize it’s two in the morning. Genji looks bone-tired, and Jesse briefly wonders how long it’s been since the man rested. 

Genji opens and closes his mouth, trying to find a place to start, “Remember I told you I had a mission in Colorado, that wasn’t exactly true. I had a mission, but not one assigned by Overwatch.”

Ah, so they’re starting from the very beginning, right when Genji left Overwatch. He always found it odd Genji had upped and left on ‘a mission,’ with no debrief or even telling his teammates where he was going. Jesse had only found out because he had caught the sneaky bastard boarding one of the jets by himself.

“I had leads on where my brother might be. Colorado was one one of them,” Genji says. Jesse feels that they’re skipping over a mountain of information, like: who gave Genji the leads? Why was he going after his brother all by himself?

“I-I found him in a prison cell in a Talon base. He didn’t even recognize me, Jesse,” it takes everything in him not to wince at the anguish in Genji’s voice. Jesse sees Hanzo tense up next to his brother, the man almost shying away from the close contact. 

“We fought, and that’s when I saw some type of device attached to his skull. I yanked it out,” Genji says sheepishly. Jesse can easily picture Genji simply yanking out some foreign object from his brother's skull, without first thinking of the consequences of doing such a thing.

“Good ol’ Genji. Yank first, ask questions later,” Jesse smirks. “So what happened next?” 

Genji looks cautiously at Hanzo, Something tells Jesse that this part of the story is difficult for both of them.

“Do you mind if we rest first Jesse? It’s been a long day… a very long day,” Genji says in lieu of an answer. Jesse can tell whatever happened is something he doesn’t want to speak about in front of Hanzo.

“Well, showers are upstairs and guest bedrooms all yours. Genji, you know where the clothes are,” Jesse says.

Jesse stands up slowly, arms loose and non-threatening at his sides, as he breezes out the room and to the kitchen. He’s dealt with plenty of men like Hanzo, and the best you can do is to show them you’re not a threat. No amount of words will make much of a difference. Genji stands, and Jesse can visibly see the exhaustion outlining his body, “come on, aniki.”

Genji takes the assassin's hand and pulls him to his feet, and Jesse breathes a sigh of relief as they disappear up the stairs. 

“What a goddamn night.”

* * *

Once in the bathroom, Genji has Hanzo take off the shabby jacket. Looking more closely, most of the blood on the jacket seems centered in one area of the jacket, which means some of it is Hanzo’s own blood. 

Next, he has Hanzo remove his Gi, and he tries not to think about how easily Hanzo allows him to help. There’s no shame, no nothing in his expression; just that same blank look he had when Genji first found him in the Talon base. Genji’s guts twist at the grim implications. With the Gi removed, Genji takes full stock of the injuries Hanzo’s received.

The whole left side of his body is a mountain of bruises, and Genji immediately knows where those came from. Escaping the Talon base had not been easy, with Hanzo taking more heat then he should have. Genji clenches his fist to calm himself; he should have had a plan for if he found Hanzo, and he’s lucky they were able to escape at all. 

There’s one jagged cut alongside his ribs from where he had jumped in front of a knife for Genji. The blood has since coagulated around the gash. Hanzo had been fighting and running with an injury like this? Genji hadn’t had any idea it was this bad, Hanzo had barely even flinched when receiving the wound.

“Aniki, why didn’t you tell me you were hurt?” Genji protests, grabbing a paper towel to gingerly blot at the healing wound.

“It was not impeding my mobility,” he says clinically. Genji shakes his head but doesn’t argue. Once Hanzo is entirely naked, he undoes the ponytail haphazardly holding his hair up and lets his hair shake loose. His hair that was once short in Hanamura, now stops at his mid back.

Genji eases Hanzo down to the edge of the tub, he lays a hand gently on his brother's thigh. The stumps where his legs meet the prosthetics are an angry red, inflamed, and hot to the touch. Genji knows his legs must be killing him. The prosthetics are still a shock to Genji, he still doesn’t even know how Hanzo had lost his legs. It makes Genji’s blood boil to even think Talon had something to do with it. If Talon took his brother's legs, the small handle he has on his inner calm is going to break. He can’t even fathom what scenario would warrant the replacement of his legs.

“Can I take these off for me aniki, they must hurt?”

Genji sees Hanzo hesitate in undoing the prosthetics from his legs, though he doesn’t argue, and simply moves with trembling hands to unlock the clasps around his leg. Clearly, being without his legs makes Hanzo extremely uncomfortable, and it must feel like Genji being without his suit. Once they're off, the stumps themselves look so inflamed Genji can barely look at them, and he doubts Jesse has any ointment or cream.

Hanzo slides gracefully into the water, and it immediately runs red. Genji hands him a washcloth and allows his brother to clean himself. He exits the room, prosthetics in hand, and heads to the spare bedroom to find an extra set of clothes for his brother. He sets the black prosthetics in the corner of the room. None of Jesse's clothes will fit his brother; they’re all too big and baggy. He finds a plain shirt and jogging pants that he hopes won’t sag too badly off his body.

He re-enters the bathroom and hands his brother a towel as he props himself on the edge of the tub. Genji takes to drying his brother's hair; the black strands are soft and pillowy as he dries them. He gently braids the hair down his back.

With Hanzo dry, Genji hands him the clothes from the bedroom. Hanzo looks expectantly at Genji, then towards his stumps. “May I have my legs back?”

“Maybe we should leave them off for a day aniki, let your legs recover alright?” Genji proposes. He doesn’t want to take any choices away from Hanzo, but the state of his stumps causes him to worry. It’s clearly not the answer Hanzo wants to hear once again, he doesn’t put up a fight. Once dressed, he waits for Genji to help him.

Genji wraps one arm under his brothers, while the other grips his waist as he carries him from the room to the spare bedroom. Once he lays his brother gently on the bed, Genji finally allows himself to breathe, to let himself calm down, to see he has his brother here with him and not in some Talon base, they’re both safe. He sits on the side of the bed, even though the bed is large enough for the two of them. It’s been a year since he’s seen his brother, actually _seen_ the man he last encountered in their home on the anniversary of his “death.”

He remembers offering Hanzo his forgiveness and a place at Overwatch. He had been so sure Hanzo would accept his offer then, but as the months flew by, he saw no sign of his brother coming to Overwatch. In fact, he lost all contact with his brother all together. It wasn’t until almost six months ago he saw Hanzo with Talon, then another three before he was able to get any lead on him.

The man he saw looked nothing like his brother. A dead eyed look, a mechanical, blank and deadly way of moving. It was as if Hanzo was a puppet, and there was someone pulling his strings. Genji had known then and there something was wrong with his brother, something wasn’t right, and he wouldn’t stop till he found out what. Regardless of the things he and Hanzo had been through, and the things they’ve yet to resolve, he only wants his brother safe, and by his side. That night in Hanamura was supposed to be a new start for them, a chance for them both to heal.

It had taken time, connections, and resources to finally track his brother down to the Talon base in Colorado. Even then finding Hanzo there was a stroke of luck, his sources had only told him Hanzo _could_ be there. What was supposed to be a simple recon mission, had turned into a battle. With neither he or Hanzo escaping unscathed.

Genji almost wants to scream at the things it took to finally be reunited with his brother, his actual brother, and not the killing machine Talon had turned him into. 

Genji can see Hanzo is losing the battle with sleep; his eyelids are growing heavy as he struggles to stay awake. Genji briefly wonders how long it’s been since Hanzo’s been able to sleep, to sleep knowing he was safe, to sleep in a soft bed. While the exhaustion is clawing at Genji as well, he can miss a night's rest to watch over his brother.

“Sleep Hanzo. I will keep you safe, aniki.”

  
  



	2. Eye Water

Genji dozes a few times while watching Hanzo, exhaustion calling to him in more ways than one. He tries to stay awake, but he can’t shake the feeling that if he takes his eyes off Hanzo he’ll disappear, that Hanzo will slip right out of his grasp again. It takes a while for Hanzo to actually fall asleep, his eyes constantly darting open as if sensing danger in the room. As if Talon was waiting in the shadows to take him back. Each time his eyes landed on Genji, he would calm down, and that in itself made Genji’s heart flip in his chest. To know he was a source of comfort for his brother filled him with a fierce protectiveness.

Genji runs his hand through the black strands of Hanzo’s hair; he looks so peaceful now. The oversized black shirt he’s wearing hangs slightly off his shoulder, the rest of his body hidden underneath the plush comforter. His face is open and relaxed, not tense the way it’s been for the past two days. Genji can’t even imagine the last time Hanzo was able to sleep like this, undisturbed.

Genji is thankful that Jesse doesn’t bother them in the hours Genji spends in the room. He knows he’s downstairs waiting, he also knows the cowboy doesn’t expect him to sleep tonight. He silently thanks Jesse for giving his brother and him their space, especially with how Hanzo is so jumpy around other people in general and Jesse in particular.

Since rescuing Hanzo he hadn’t actually had much time to talk with his brother and get the full story. Running from Talon hasn’t left much room for a heart to heart. Genji has so many questions for his brother, such as what happened after Hanamura? How did his brother end up in Talon’s clutches? 

Genji knows the minute he goes downstairs he’ll need to tell Jesse what’s happened, though he doesn’t know Hanzo’s full story. Right now, all Genji has is the intel he’s learned from over the past year, plus the events of the last forty-six hours. He knows Jesse will all but follow him to the ends of the Earth, so he’s not worried, but he feels he owes Jesse more than the barely woven together story he has now. After all, he’d involved Jesse in this mess the minute he called him to the safe house.

Jesse was the only Overwatch member he’d trusted with his brother. He’d briefly considered Angela but he knew her loyalty to Overwatch was stronger than her ties to him. No doubt had he showed up with his wanted brother she’d immediately call Overwatch. The situation was developing too rapidly to involve Overwatch just yet, and he didn’t have all the details needed. He also needs time himself to figure out just exactly what he was dealing with.

Genji sighs tiredly, and stands upon wavering feet. He figures now is as good a time as any to go speak to Jesse. He bids one final look at Hanzo before standing and leaving the room. Genji keeps the door cracked so he can hear if his brother awakens, and as he makes his way down to the kitchen he can smell tea and coffee already being made. Jesse knows him so well. 

“Well, partner, you’ve outdone yourself this time on today's edition of, ‘what can Genji surprise us with today.’” Jesse chuckles, sliding the mug over to Genji.

“Is this jasmine tea?” Genji questions while taking a seat at the counter.

“It’s whatever the hell you last left here, bud.” Genji sips at the tea, not really tasting it. He moans drowsily; he’s already becoming even more tired than he already was, maybe he should have taken a nap before coming down.

“I won’t be too mad if you decide to get some sleep before we talk, I assume the assassino’ is out like a light?” Jesse inquires, swirling his coffee around the cup.

“Yeah, he’s sleeping. He’ll probably wake up again though, he’s been on and off all night. I’ll sleep after I explain the situation. I owe you that much.”

“Well, darlin’ I’m all ears. This ought to be one hell of a story.”

“You know how I went to visit Han in Hanamura, right? I invited him to join Overwatch.”

Okay; this was news to Jesse. He knew the trip was all a part of the forgiveness thing Zenyatta and Genji worked on, but Jesse hadn’t known inviting murderous siblings back was part of the deal. He also hadn't been too thrilled with Genji even going to see his brother; from the way he’d talked about Hanzo in their Blackwatch days you’d have thought the man was the devil himself. Jesse himself believed that when he’d found out Hanzo was the cause of Genji’s new robotic body. He was more than surprised when after just a few months with Zen, Genji had changed his whole tune on his wayward brother. 

“Okay, you invited him back, and then what?” Jesse prods gently. “He clearly didn’t accept.” 

“Except he did, I saw it in his eyes, Jesse. He was going to accept my invitation. He told me he just needed time to forgive himself, to figure things out. Something must have happened.” Genji stresses, and Jesse nods. He wasn’t there, but if Genji believes he was going to accept, he’ll take his word for it. Genji’s never been the gullible type.

“Okay, so how’d we jump from accepting your invitation to Overwatch to joining a terrorist organization?” Jesse hopes that Genji can connect the dots and make sense of it for him.

“I know Hanzo, he didn’t join them willingly. They must have forced him to work with them. My brother would never join Talon.”

_ “But he’d kill his own brother for leaving the clan,”  _ Jesse thinks, but is smart enough not to say it out loud. 

“My sources told me Hanzo disappeared from Hanamura a few weeks after we met. He didn’t just leave, he vanished.” Genji declares, “I went back to Hanamura, and I couldn’t find a trace of him. It’s not like Hanzo to just disappear like that.”

“You said he was running from his clan as well, right? Is it  _ really  _ that odd?” Jesse asks, from the look of Hanzo his time with Talon didn't  _ look _ like he joined willingly but Jesse couldn’t be too sure.

“Hanzo’s always left clues for me to follow, ever since he found out I was alive. It’s how I found him in Hanamura in the first place.” Genji avoids telling him the destructive reasoning behind Hanzo leaving clues. He knows his brother had hoped Genji would come seeking revenge, that Genji would absolve him of his sins and his life. The fact Hanzo left without a trace is out of character for the archer.

“Okay, okay. So you met your brother a year ago, he disappears a few weeks later then after a few months pops up with Talon. But instead of joining willingly, he was forced?” 

He gets being forced to work for an organization, hell Blackwatch barely gave him a choice when he first joined. But to think someone as skilled as Hanzo wasn’t able to escape Talon? It’s almost unfathomable. Not to mention the footage of Hanzo killing politicians, murdering his fellow Overwatch agents. The man certainly didn’t look like he didn’t want to commit the crimes he had committed in the footage Overwatch managed to catch of the elusive archer. Jesse had watched as Hanzo dispatched his targets with cold indifference, not even a smidge of hesitation in his movements. With the man’s prior profession it’d be even odder for him to hesitate. 

Genji shakes his head as if reading his mind, “I saw the footage of him, and that’s not my brother. Nothing in that video was like Hanzo. It’s his body, but it’s not him, Jesse.” Genji clenches his fist, causing small cracks to appear in the coffee handle. 

“Hanzo wouldn’t, he wouldn’t join Talon. He wouldn’t betray me like that, not after what happened.” Genji adds somberly. “Hanzo had every opportunity to join Talon before Hanamura, why join them after I invite him to Overwatch? I will not believe him to be so cruel.”

“Why is it so hard to believe? He killed you Genji, why won’t you believe-”

“Things are different now.” Genji snaps, losing the thin hold on his patience. 

“When I found him in that... that  _ damn  _ prison cell he wasn’t Hanzo. He was like a shell, Jesse. When I opened his cell he didn’t even recognize me, it was like he was looking at a complete stranger. Talon was controlling him!” Genji says earnestly. 

“They kept him caged like an animal! why would you do that to someone who’s on your side?”

“Okay, I’m with you, but how did they control him? That’s the only part that’s not making sense.” 

The rest of Genji’s story fits haphazardly together except that part, Jesse would sooner believe blackmail than him being mind-controlled or anything of the sort.

“A device! A chip in the back of his head!That’s how they were controlling him!” 

“A… control chip, Genji.” Jesse’s trying his hardest not to sound like an asshole, on his dear ma’s grave he is.

Genji slams his hands on the table, causing tea and coffee to spill over the countertop, “When I ripped the chip out, he screamed, he called for me. He screamed for me like I wasn’t standing right there. It was like he didn’t even know where he was, he just kept screaming and crying. He… he was in so much pain.”

“I know they used that chip to control him, Talon has always had their eyes on Hanzo, Jesse. What's the next step from trying to recruit him if that doesn’t work?” Genji asks, eyes staring at him pleadingly.

“Why not blackmail him?” Jesse throws out cautiously.

Genji scoffs, “with what? Hanzo has no secrets, he has no clan or family to protect any longer. What would they have possibly used? Jesse, please, I’m asking you to believe me.” 

Jesse can see Genji all but begging him with his eyes to trust him, to believe him and Jesse does. It’s the biggest damn leap of faith he can remember taking, but for now he does it. It all makes a disturbing amount of sense, and Jesse doesn’t even want to get into the implications that Talon now has the ability to mind control people. It would sound far-fetched to anyone else, but Jesse’s seen things that make him question what’s real and what isn’t. 

“Get that look off your face, I believe ya partner.” Genji breathes a visible sigh of relief.

Genji’s body shakes as he balls his hands into fists, and whispers, “I don’t even want to think about what they’ve done to him…” 

“We’ll pay ‘em back tenfold,” Jesse promises, his voice deadly serious. “May take some time, but we’ll take ‘em down, together partner,”

Genji chuckles, “Damn straight.”

“Are you sure he’s not still being controlled by Talon?” Jesse asks getting down to business, with everything else on their plate he really doesn’t want to have to worry about Hanzo stabbing them in the neck at night.

“Ah,” Genji starts awkwardly, scratching the back of his head, “I’m pretty sure the chip was it.”

Jesse pinches the bridge of his nose, bowing his head. He really should have expected this from Genji. Lord knows the ninja is thorough sometimes and completely absent minded others.

“We’ve been together for the past few days, and he hasn’t tried to kill me,” Genji says defensively. “He even killed a few Talon members!” 

“Well whoppity-fucking-doo Genji, he killed the folks who were holding him hostage.” Jesse says sarcastically. Jesse didn’t know the first thing about control chips or mind control but he’s pretty sure it’s not as easy as pulling out the thing controlling the person. 

“What are you going to do about Overwatch? Regardless of whether he was being controlled or not, he’s still on Overwatch’s most wanted list.” Jesse makes sure not to include the dead or alive bit in there.

“Hanzo didn’t do those things,” Genji says quietly, as if he’s forgotten all about the organization he’s a part of. “Well, not really, it wasn’t him.”

A small part of Jesse feels bad for Hanzo; Genji was right. In a way, Hanzo couldn’t be held responsible for crimes he had no control over committing if the control chip was to be believed, but there were dead bodies nonetheless, and someone has to take the blame for them. Someone has to be held responsible for the innocent lives claimed, and Hanzo is the clear target to blame.

“I agree with you,” Jesse says reassuringly, “But someone has to answer for those crimes, Genji,” Jesse says as gently as possible.

Genji glares at him, “Yeah, it’ll be Talon who answers for their crimes, not Hanzo.”

“Okay, back to the question, what are you going to do about Overwatch? You can’t hide him out in a safe house forever, not to mention Overwatch is your best chance if you want to prove his innocence.” 

“I’ll tell you right now partner, it’ll be better if we go to them before they find us. Because if they get their hands on him before you get a chance to explain…” Jesse trails off ominously.

“I won’t let anybody touch him,” Genji says with such ferocity that Jesse steps back from the counter, hands immediately flying up in a surrender gesture. Without a doubt, Jesse can tell Genji would possibly betray the organization for his brother, and he’s not sure if that type of conviction is a good thing for them right now.

“Just hold your horse's partner, I gave us two options, didn’t I? Our best bet is to go to them, lay everything out on the table for ‘em. Winston and Jack aren’t entirely unreasonable.” 

Jesse breathes a sigh of relief as he sees Genji visibly relax at his words. “They have to believe us, it’s the truth.” Genji says.

“Did Hanzo add anything to the story? It might help if he gives us his version of events.”

Genji shakes his head, looking towards the direction of the stairs, “He hasn’t said much in general. I don’t know how much he knows or how much he remembers.”

“Well we’ve got time, I’m not due back to Overwatch for a few days, with luck I can stretch it to a few weeks. We’ll have our story straight by then, okay?” Jesse reassures him. 

Something tells him it’s not going to be that easy... but he’s always been something of an optimist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really blown away with the response for this story, thank you all so much.


	3. Nightfall

After his conversation with Jesse, Genji all but falls into bed with his brother.. The minute Genji’s head hits the pillow, sleep claims him. 

In the end, it’s Hanzo who wakes him. The archer lays motionless, ramrod straight in the bed. It’s clear he’s awake, but he’s not moving. Genji doesn’t know if he’s scared to move or is taking in his surroundings. The only sounds that fill the bedroom are the soft whirls and whines of Genji’s own suit. The soft green light fills the room.

“Aniki? Are you awake?” Genji whispers soothingly.

Hanzo’s still a mystery. It’s clear he finds comfort in Genji, but it doesn’t stop the man from being cautious of him and second-guessing his movements. It was like that when they were on the run; after removing the chip he had followed Genji and even fought with him to get out of the base. 

Yet when they left, it was if Hanzo was watching Genji for something he couldn’t identify. Sometimes Genji would catch Hanzo looking at him, like he didn’t even know who he was, and at the time Genji had chucked the uneasiness up to them constantly being on the run. Though now he feels as though there’s more to it.

Hanzo doesn't answer, he continues to lay as still as a mouse in bed. 

Genji rises from the bed, coming to the side Hanzo occupies, “I’m here aniki, do you mind if I check your bandages?” 

Hanzo nods though he stiffens in the bed, eyes looking anywhere but Genji. It’s clear he doesn’t want to, but he allows Genji to proceed anyway. He hates watching Hanzo force himself to do something he doesn’t want, the display so unlike his once proud and stubborn brother. He could only imagine old Hanzo growing annoyed with his show of concern and his fretting over him. 

Genji checks the knife wound under Hanzo’s shirt, and Genji can already see the beginnings of a scab forming around the outside. He moves to Hanzo’s leg, rolling the jogging pants up to check the stumps. They look considerably better than they did yesterday, although not so much that Genji feels comfortable putting the prosthetics back on. He figures he’ll also ask if the cowboy can make a store run for him, something to ease Hanzo’s skin after being in the prosthetics all day.

As Genji rolls down his pant leg Hanzo grabs his wrist, his face screwed into confusion. His eyes are filled with an intensity Genji can’t pinpoint.

“Why?” His voice is strangled, and Genji knows that word is more than just a question. 

“Why what, aniki?”

“Why are you helping me? Why do you keep calling me ‘aniki’? I-I don’t understand,” Hanzo says sounding frenzied. Genji freezes, and his heart feels as though it's stopped in his chest.

Does Hanzo not recognize him? Who exactly does he think Genji is? Did he mess something up by ripping that control chip out of his head? Had Hanzo truly thought he was nothing more than a stranger all this time? Genji takes a few breaths before he has a damn panic attack.

“Hanzo, do you know who I am?” 

“Genji Shimada, an agent of Overwatch.” Hanzo says carefully, some of the confusion melting away from his eyes and an intense concentration replacing it.

“That’s correct,” Genji whispers. “Do you know who you are, and do you know where you are?”

“I’m, I’m- Hanzo Shimada. We’re at the safe house of Jesse Mcree.” Hanzo’s tone is as if he’s recalling something lost to him.

Genji places a trembling hand on Hanzo’s cheek, tilting his head to look at him. “Hanzo, do you recognize me, you can be honest. I won’t be mad at you or anything.” 

Hanzo closes his eyes, and shys away from the trembling hand. When he looks up Genji sees recognition cross his face, his amber eyes filling with misery. “I know you, Genji. Sometimes, sometimes I know, and other times I don’t. I woke up, and I-I forgot. I don’t know why I keep forgetting things.” 

“H-How long has this been going on?” This is much worse than he thought, just how much does Hanzo know. Just how much does he remember about anything?

“Since you rescued me.” Hanzo whispers. Which explains the blank looks while they were on the run. How Hanzo would sometimes stare at him as if he didn’t know who he was looking at.

Genji closes his eyes, and a single tear drips down. “Kami kuso, kuso,”

He needs to keep it together for Hanzo’s sake and his own. It isn’t hopeless; his brother recognizes him, albeit only half the time. Genji prays he didn’t permanently damage his brother by ripping out that chip. 

“Aniki, I’m helping you because you are my brother, okay, we’re going to get through this, alright?” Genji can fix this, but he doesn’t know who he’s reassuring as the tears stream down his face.

* * *

  
  


Genji doesn’t know how long he cries, only that Hanzo lets him. The man sits quietly on the bed, allowing Genji to grip his hand in a vice lock. Genji can’t bring himself to look at the archer, can’t look at him and not think he failed at protecting his brother. Whatever their past is, he never wanted to see Hanzo hurt like this.

Hanzo’s face is carefully blank, his posture only going rigid when Genji makes a particularly ugly sob. He does nothing to soothe Genji, nor does he do anything to dissuade his tears. He simply sits patiently as if waiting for a storm to pass.

“Okay, alright, I’m done,” Genji says after a few minutes, wiping the last few remaining tears from his face. “You totally didn’t cry huh? Very manly of you.” 

“You had enough tears for us both.” Hanzo says calmly, and Genji laughs again, he wants to pretend that Hanzo’s being a smart ass. He squeezes Hanzo’s hand before releasing it.

A cautious knock at the door causes Hanzo to go rigid. 

“It’s alright aniki!” said Genji, quickly, ”It’s just Jesse; he’s a friend, remember?” 

Genji hopes and prays Hanzo’s bursts of amnesia don’t kick in right now. If Hanzo could just remember the two of them, that’s all Genji could ask for. Knowing Jesse's personality, he has no doubt the cowboy will make his own impression on Hanzo. One look at Hanzo’s face, though, and he sees brief recognition float across his eyes.

“You can come in, Jesse,” Genji calls, gripping Hanzo’s hand in the way of comfort.

Jesse slowly opens the door, slips inside and stands near it. His arms are at his side, and his posture is open and relaxed. Genji doesn’t even see Peacekeeper in his holster. Jesse’s used to making himself known, used to being the loudest one in the room. Now he looks as if he’s trying to blend in with the furniture.

“Uh, so... you okay in here?” Jesse asks sheepishly. He must have heard the crying. Genji silently commends him for not busting in here at the first sign of trouble; that probably would have made things infinitely worse.

“We’re okay,” Genji tells him, his hand never leaving Hanzo’s. “Just a misunderstanding.”

He knows he’ll have to eventually tell Jesse about his brothers on-and-off-again amnesia, but that can at least wait ‘till breakfast.

“Misunderstanding?” Jesse questions, disbelief overlaying his tone. Ah, so he _did_ hear the ugly crying. He’s got to learn to cry quieter, he thinks to himself. 

“Well, I figured I’d come up and reintroduce myself to our esteemed house guest,” Jesse says, giving Hanzo one of his famous megawatt smiles, though it would help if the assassin was looking at him and not the wall next to Jesse’s ear. 

The pair of brothers look much better than they did before and thankfully none of the dried dirt and blood was on either of them. Looking at Hanzo, all cleaned up, and Jesse thinks the man makes a pretty picture. Though he’s smart enough to keep that comment to himself.

“Name’s Jesse McCree darlin', at your service,” Jesse says, giving the man a slight tip of his hat. 

Hanzo glances quickly at Genji before finally meeting eyes with the cowboy. “I am Hanzo Shimada, brother of Genji.” Hanzo says blanky.

Hanzo’s blankness doesn’t deter Jesse. He’s dealt with even rougher crowds before Hanzo “Nice to put a name to the face darlin’.”

“You know me?” Hanzo shifts uneasily.

“I talked about you frequently to him while I was searching for you, aniki,” Genji says smoothly, and receives a grateful look from Jesse.

Hanzo simply nods at the answer, looking down at his lap. Who knew jogging pants were more interesting than McCree.

“Introductions out of the way, I made breakfast if anyone’s hungry.”

“You can cook, McCree?” Genji asks innocently, but Jesse can tell it’s anything but. “And here I thought you lived off whiskey and fast food my friend.”

“This is why I barely tolerate you now, Shimada,” Jesse snips back.

Genji stands and goes to the corner, grabbing what looks like legs, and now Jesse is wholly confused. They’re black and sleek, and even Jesse can see they're a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Jesse glances back at Hanzo and finally notices half of the archers legs are missing from the jogging pants.

For the first time, Jesse sees Hanzo’s eyes light up with something akin to interest as Genji hands him the prosthetics. “We’ll be downstairs aniki. Come down when you’re finished.”

“Has he always worn prosthetics?” Jesse asks gently once they’ve left the room.

“No. No, he hasn’t.” Genji says gravely, and Jesse leaves it at that; Genji’s response more than answers all of Jesse’s questions. 

* * *

They make it to the kitchen, and while Genji feels bad for digging into the eggs and bacon before Hanzo comes downstairs, he can’t remember the last time he’s had a hot meal. Jesse doesn’t admonish him; he just cracks a few more eggs into a bowl and mixes them up. 

“You’re the best, Jesse.” Genji sighs around the food in his mouth. 

“I aim to please darlin’. You wanna talk about that sob fest you had upstairs?” 

Genji swallows the eggs and bacon stuffed in his mouth, “Hanzo said he only remembers me half the time.”

“Yikes, like he doesn’t remember you’re his brother?” 

Genji nods pitifully, “Jesse, I don’t want to drag you into this if I don’t have to. This isn’t going to be easy: Hanzo, Talon, any of it. Not to mention I don’t need you getting in trouble with Overwatch on account of me.”

Jesse can see Genji throwing him a way out, but he’ll be damned if he takes it. "You need someone to watch your back. We’re brothers at this point, Genji, and that’s all there is to it."

“Jesse-”

“I said I had your back and I’m a man of my word partner. We’re in this together Genji, get it through yer’ head.” Jesse says with finality.

Genji had planned to take on the whole situation himself if need be. He’d only come to Jesse as a place to rest before getting back to work; he hadn’t exactly expected Jesse to help him with the entire thing. 

In the deep recess of his mind, he knew Jesse would. Genji knows he’s precisely the type of person to stick his neck out for a friend, no matter the gravity of the situation, and Genji is… touched. Having to search for Hanzo on his own had made Genji forget what it was like to have someone like a brother-in-arms like he did Jesse. 

Genji looks away from the conviction shining in Jesse’s eyes. He really doesn’t want to start crying again at the kitchen table.

“I can’t believe you expected any less of me,” Jesse whimpers melodramatically as he clutches his chest.

“You’re ridiculous, Jesse.”.

“Yeah, well, I’m serious,” Jesse smirks, dumping the next round of eggs into the skillet. “We’re brothers, partner; don’t think you’re going through this shit alone.”

* * *

It’s fifteen minutes later and Genji and Jesse both are finishing their food when Hanzo finally comes down the stairs. Jesse really wants to ask what the hell took so long, seeing as he’s only put on his prosthetics, but it’s not his business. 

Genji stands and makes Hanzo’s plate, setting the food down and pulling a stool up next to him. Genji continues his conversation with Jesse; at this point, they’re talking harmlessly about their favorite sports teams. Jesse can tell Genji’s trying to create a natural atmosphere for Hanzo, and Jesse will be damned if he doesn’t play along.

Hanzo sits gingerly in the seat designated for him and Jesse doesn’t miss how Hanzo’s looking at him with a new intensity. He briefly wonders if the whole amnesia thing is going on right now, then wonders if he’d be an asshole for reintroducing himself to the man. Still, if Hanzo’s going to watch him, that’s fine. 

It’s another five minutes into their conversation, and Jesse realizes Hanzo has no intention of touching the food placed in front of him.

“Aniki, please eat.” Genji prods gently.

Hanzo glances at Genji, face softening just a smidge. “I am not hungry.”

That’s a lie if Jesse ever heard one, he definitely didn’t eat yesterday, and from the way Genji woofed down his food, eating regularly wasn’t a pass time they got to enjoy while they were on the run. It crosses Jesse's mind that Hanzo thinks the food is poisoned, and once again… ouch. Was his cooking that terrible?

Genji reaches over to Hanzo’s plate, grabbing an egg with his own fork and sliding it into his mouth. His own thoughts are confirmed when Hanzo looks alarmed for half-second at the action. So the bastard did think he poisoned the food! 

“See? It’s alright, aniki.”

“I swear on my dear old ma’ it ain’t poisoned darlin’,” Jesse adds playfully, and Hanzo’s eyes snap to him. He stares piercingly as if he’s trying to examine Jesse to spot even a hint of a lie. Jesse wonders if the man was always this damn paranoid.

Hanzo slowly grabs the fork next to his plate, repeating the same motion as Genji. He eats methodically, almost akin to a robot. Jesse wonders if he is even tasting the food. Jesse picks the conversation back up; no reason for them to be staring at Hanzo like he’s a kid trying out his first fried breakfast.

Hanzo pays the conversation no mind and mechanically eats his breakfast. With each passing second, though, the man becomes more and more tense. Jesse didn’t exactly expect breakfast to go smoothly with a traumatized assassin as their guest, but he had at least hoped it would cut some of the tension. He thinks he can say with confidence that his food’s better than whatever Talon was feeding him. 

Genji and Jesse both come to a halt as Hanzo stands abruptly, plate now empty. “May I go back to the room now?” Hanzo asks measuredly. The man’s a ball of tension, and Jesse can’t quite pinpoint what’s set him so on edge.

“O-Of course aniki, I’ll come up in a little while, alright?”

Hanzo doesn’t respond, but then neither Genji or Jesse really expect him too. The only sound he makes is the slight scrape of the stool scratching the floor as he leaves.

“Before you start, I think that went better than expected,” Jesse says calmly, taking a sip of his coffee.

“To you, maybe,” Genji says dejectedly.

“We’ve got a newly rescued, previously controlled chipped assassin to eat breakfast like a normal human being. Count that as a win!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Overwatch doesn’t know what made Black Widow flip her lid and switch sides in this story, Jack and Winston do though. Also, Genji this why we don’t rip mysterious items from people’s heads.
> 
> Changed a few canon events by having Hanzo know Genji was indeed alive and well before meeting in Hanamura.


	4. Reverse Situation

After Genji disappears up the stairs, Jesse doesn’t see a lick of him the rest of the day. A small part of him wants to be noisy and put an ear to their door. He wonders briefly just what the hell they could be up there doing for the past ten hours. They all had breakfast at around ten, and it's eight o’clock now. 

When curiosity does get the better of him, and he stands at the foot of the stairs, he still can’t hear a thing coming from the room. He meanders around the first floor of his safe house, going from watching TV to raiding his fridge. He even went out and got some of that disgusting tea Genji’s so fond of, while he waited for any sign of the pair of brothers reappearing.

Jesse figures he could get some shut-eye; he hasn’t properly slept since the duo arrived. He has a feeling, though, that before he can actually sleep he needs a plan in place for how they’ll deal with Overwatch. Jesse can see this whole mess quickly turning into one big clusterfuck with Genji and Hanzo at the center of it. Jesse had meant what he said; he’d have Genji’s back and that meant having Hanzo’s too, even if at the most he felt right now for the man was a heaping of sympathy mixed in with half-baked attraction.

Jesse knows more than anything that if they want Overwatch to not throw Hanzo in prison and believe their control-chip story they’re going to need proof. That means physical evidence from Talon. 

Jesse knows the most obvious thing to do is to go back to the base and find what they can. There’s no guarantee they’ll find anything, but it’s worth the risk. Jesse hopes they’ll find the smashed bits of the control chip still there. Though two-manning a Talon base, desolate or not was not wise. It’d be Genji and him with no means of backup if things go sour. They’ve had worse scenarios, but Jesse is not fond of deliberately putting himself in one.

Jesse’s knocked out of his thoughts by horrifying screams, and he almost can’t believe someone’s found his safehouse. He almost tumbles to the floor with how fast he leaps off the couch, his hand moves to Peacekeeper as he all but sprints up the stairs to where the screams are coming from. The screams are coming from Hanzo, and he sounds absolutely  _ terrified _ . Jesse pauses at the door, if Hanzo’s having a nightmare or relieving some fucked up memory, then his presence will only make it worse. At least it’s not an intruder. Genji would have called him by now, not to mention the ninja can definitely handle himself.

Jesse can just barely make out Genji’s voice over the screams, “Wake up aniki, it’s me! It’s Genji, you’re alright! You’re safe, Hanzo!”

Jesse can hear the sheets moving, and the bed creaks from behind the door. The screaming stops suddenly, leaving an empty silence in its wake, and Jesse can only guess that Hanzo’s awake. He leans a bit closer to the door and can hear Genji reassuring Hanzo. He’s whispering quietly to his brother, but his voice sounds muffled, and Jesse can hear him crying. Not wanting to intrude on their privacy Jesse leaves for the kitchen to make some more tea and coffee.

* * *

The room is quiet when Hanzo settles down. Genji sits on the bed next to him, arms around his shoulders to comfort the trembling archer. Hanzo had mostly slept soundly all day, while Genji alternated between watching him sleep and getting some rest himself.

This was the first night where Hanzo woke up screaming. Genji’s heart clenched at how scared his brother sounded, as he tossed and turned fighting off some unseen enemy in the bed. It hadn’t taken long for Hanzo to settle down, and his screams stopped when he opened his eyes but Genji would never forget the sound. 

The bedroom is deathly quiet now, and Genji almost thought his brother had gone back to sleep with how still he is. Hanzo pulls out of his embrace, bracing both hands on the bed as he looks at the floor.

“You used to have green hair.” Hanzo remarks quietly after a few minutes, his voice hoarse from screaming. Genji turns to face him, mouth gaped slightly at the strange remark. It’s certainly not what he expected Hanzo to say.

“You remember that? I remember father was so angry at me, though what else was new.” Genji chuckles lightly. 

He remembers buying the neon hair dye, knowing it would cause a ruckus within the clan. It was one of his reasons for buying it, along with his fascination with all things neon when he was a teenager. Their father had been so angry, but only in front of the elders; in private, he had been just as amused as he and Hanzo were. He remembers Hanzo being assigned to help him get the god forsaken color out of his hair.

“I-I only remember you and the green hair. Your body didn’t look like... this.” Hanzo says uncertainly.

Genji, chooses his next words carefully, “You don’t remember how I got this way?”

Hanzo looks him in the eye, eyes pained. “I’m sorry, am I supposed to?”

Genji feels his breath catch in his throat; he can’t see a sliver of remembrance in Hanzo’s eyes. He truly doesn’t know, and Genji knows he needs to tell Hanzo the truth. Now’s not the time to keep secrets from one another. Genji never liked secrets; they rarely stayed secrets for long and when revealed the consequences were always bad. 

That being said Hanzo’s already suffering enough, and to tell him the truth would just add to it. There was no telling how'd he react to the news now. Before Hanzo’s kidnapping he’d seen the regret when they met in Hanamura. At that point, Hanzo had been ready to die at his hand for his mistake.

“Uh no, don’t worry about it. I was, uh, badly injured on a mission.” Genji settles on and doesn’t look back, if Hanzo himself doesn’t remember Genji will tell him. Not yet, not till he’s better.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.” Hanzo says softly, and looks away.

Genji smiles sadly at him, he pulls his brother into another embrace.  _ “Yeah me too.” _

* * *

“We’ve gotta stop meeting and talking over coffee like two old ladies.” Jesse says, when he sees Genji making his way downstairs. “While you were being creepy and watching your brother sleep for ten hours, I got you more of that nasty ass tea.”

“Not thirsty or hungry.” Genji says instead, “I slept too, asshole.” 

Jesse scoffs, “You’ve been up there for ten hours doing god knows what and you’re not hungry or thirsty? Did Hanzo remember he killed your pet dog when you were younger or something?” 

Jesse turns and pulls some cold pizza from the fridge. He’ll eat, even if Genji doesn’t. The ninja sits at the counter, head resting in the palm of his hand. Jesse doesn’t miss the sorrowful look in his eyes, and he starts to wonder if Hanzo  _ had  _ revealed such a memory. “He had a nightmare.”

“That’s to be expected,” Jesse says, not unkindly. Jesse doesn’t doubt Hanzo has some type of trauma after being held prisoner by Talon, but to what extent is anybody’s guess. Nightmares, PTSD, Jesse expects the whole nine yards for the archer. Jesse knows Genji must expect it too, it's inescapable.

“He-He also doesn’t remember what he-what happened to me.” Genji adds quietly, and Jesse hums. He hadn’t really expected that, but Hanzo’s been full of surprises since he arrived. He glances discreetly at Genji to watch his expression. Jesse had expected anger, even disappointment from the man. But if anything he looks strangely relieved.

“You’re not upset about that?”

Genji looks up at him, smiling miserably. “I-I’m happy about it, is that terrible?” He chuckles humorously. “Imagine him remembering something like that at a time like this.”

Jesse nods, causally taking a bite out of the pizza. He gets it, sympathizes with it. He’s worried Genji would be upset that his brother didn’t remember the greatest betrayal of his life. Jesse has to agree, Hanzo not remembering is the best for them right now, but Jesse also knows what happens when you keep secrets.

“You gonna tell ‘em? Sooner rather than later might be your best bet.” Jesse suggests.

“Maybe it’s better if he doesn’t remember at all, we’ve never gotten the chance to talk about that night but I know it weighs on him.” Genji says looking away. 

“Walking a slippery slope there partner,” Jesse says shrugging. He won’t pester Genji about it, and far be it for him to lecture Genji. Not only that he doesn’t feel it’s his place, Hanzo’s not his brother. 

“If he remembers we’ll deal with it then.” Genji settles on his voice laced with a hint of finality, and Jesse has to restrain himself for pointing out what monumentally terrible idea that is.

“What did you tell him for now?” 

Genji sighs and looks away. Yep, he definitely lied to Hanzo. “I told him I was injured on a mission,” 

“Genji-" Jesse starts.

“Just drop it Jesse,” Genji snaps irritably. “He’s my brother not yours." 

“So, plan for Overwatch?” Jesse says, switching subjects to curb the tense silence. Genji made up his mind on Hanzo and Jesse’s not going to start an argument over it. He trusts Genji will tell him eventually.

Genji looks at him sheepishly, “I apologize, I didn’t mean at snap at you. You didn’t deserve that. I’m just stressed.”

Jesse shrugs and flashes him a carefree grin, Jesse got thicker skin than that to be upset over his friend snapping on him. One look at Genji and Jesse can see the man is exhausted, physically, and mentally. He can handle being snapped at every now and again by the drained ninja. Not to mention Genji is right, Hanzo’s not his brother, hell, he’s not even his friend! He doesn’t know what’s actually best for Hanzo and a small part of him agrees with Genji that telling Hanzo the truth now isn’t the best idea.

“Forgiven you already, partner, don’t worry about it.” Jesse says, “But seriously, we need a plan for Overwatch.”

Genji straightens in his chair. The exhaustion is still there but he’s clearly determined to push through it. “We have to get evidence to clear Hanzo's name, that’s the first thing we need to do.”

Smart. Evidence of Hanzo's brainwashing proving the total involuntary control of his actions, will be the key to their control chip theory. It’ll also save them the headache of having to convince Overwatch with words. Jesse realizes that’s only the first step, though, someone still has to take accountability over the lives Hanzo's taken.

“Even if we clear his name, it’s still going to be a problem." Jesse says, “Regardless of whether he was controlled or not he still killed those people Genji. Someone has to answer for that.” 

It’s not fair, it’s not fair in the slightest, Hanzo being punished for something he had no control of is the greatest injustice. But Jesse knows the dead bodies of Overwatch member’s and politicians just won’t fade into obscurity. Their only saving grace is that Overwatch, and Talon of course, are the only one who knows Hanzo is the culprit behind the assassinations. But even now, different countries still demand justice over their fallen leaders. They could say it was Talons fault but who knows how Talon would respond. Who knows if they'd expose Hanzo as the true killer, and Jesse has no doubt they would.

Genji's jaw tenses in anger, “Overwatch should be able to help. Blackwatch was full of those with unsavory pasts.What makes Hanzo any different?”

Okay case in point, Overwatch could definitely help them in clearing Hanzo's name. Twisting facts or taking them out entirely would not be difficult at all for an organization like theirs. Not to mention Hanzo's situation is completely different from most of those of Blackwatch. Those in Blackwatch had chosen their criminal paths before joining; Hanzo had no choice in his path with Talon.

“Hanzo’s completely different,” Jesse says holding up a hand when a look of fury crosses Genji's face. 

“He didn’t have a choice at all in his actions. If Overwatch stands for what I think it does, they’ll help.” He specifies, he doesn’t believe Overwatch would throw Hanzo to the wolves. Not if they can prove he was not in control of his actions.

Genji nods, settling back down in his chair. “We need to go back to the Talon base; the control chip is probably still there. Likely some other stuff to help prove his innocence too.”

Jesse looks at him incredulously, “You wanna two man mission a fully operated Talon base. Are you outta’ your goddamn mind? I still have no idea how the hell you two escaped anyway!” 

Raiding an active Talon base is more or less a full team mission. It’s a dangerous operation, requiring a range of expertise and excellent teamwork. It only gets worse if there’s a star operative like Reaper or Widow around. That almost always leads to some type of injury that leaves one or two of them benched for a good month or two.

Genji grins wryly, “We have Soba.”

Ah, he forgot about the green beast that almost made Jesse piss himself the first time he saw the huge thing. Now it makes sense how they escaped. He vividly remembers the first time he saw the dragon, how shocked he was with terror. At first, he didn’t know where the beast had come from, only that it had decimated a squad in seconds. That had been years ago, and he’d never seen Genji use his dragon again.

“Usually I can’t control Soba in the heat of battle, it’s too difficult to guide him consciously when trying not to get my head blown off. But this time I didn’t need to control him, it was just Hanzo I had to protect, so I let him rampage,” Genji trails off. Jesse wonders just how much damage his dragon did.

“How difficult is it to control him?” Jesse wonders if that’s the reason he’s only seen the beast once.

“It’s like trying to look left and right at the same time. It’s much easier to release Soba beforehand; I can guide him easier and let him know who’s friend or foe, then reel him back in when it’s time.” 

Controlling Soba was much easier before his death. After dying his connection to Soba had been disrupted, their bond halted and unable to mend fully when he was saved. Before Hanzo had severed their bond Genji and Soba had been able to move as one, without the need for Genji to be a guide, he and Soba had been perfectly in sync. Just as wielders of the dragons should be. That severed bond caused by Hanzo was the hardest thing to forgive, something that he and Zen had worked consistently on moving past.

“Hanzo has a dragon?” Jesse asks, even though he’s positive he probably does. He remembers Genji telling him the dragons belonged to the Shimada clan, and he briefly wonders if all members have their own dragon. How dangerous would that be? He wonders how the clan even obtained dragons.

Genji smiles softly, “He has two, actually; perks of being the first-born son. He received my father’s dragon along with the one he was born with. The dragon he received from my father has been passed down for generations, it is… tremendously powerful. He was the sole reason we were able to escape like we were." 

It was also the reason they’d left the base in such a mess. As much as Hanzo tried to hide it he could not control Kurama anywhere near Genji’s limited ability to control Soba. The archer’s relationship was strained with both his dragons, which in turn impeded his ability to guide them. Isobu and Kurama had all but destroyed the base.

Genji remembers how Kurama and Isobu had tore through the Talon members effortlessly, ripped them apart with brutal ease. Soba had done his fair share of damage protecting Genji as well. Though he had nowhere near the power Kurama did, his dragon was equal to Isobu. Kurama had done all of the structural damage, Kurama being the only dragon that could psychically manifest from it’s ethereal form.

Geesh, Jesse had witnessed firsthand the destructive power of one dragon. Had seen just how quickly one could take out an entire squad, he couldn’t even imagine what two could do. Let alone three, on a total rampage.

“Is the base still standing?” Jesse muses.

Genji smirks, “Just barely. We don’t have to worry about the guards. At most they’ll send a cleanup crew. If it is busy we’ll send Soba to clear up most of them.”

Jesse nods, he feels much more comfortable with raiding the base now. “Where’s the base at?”

“The location is stored on my mask,” Genji says. “It’s about four or five hours from here. If we leave at the crack of dawn, well get back before the next day.” 

Unfortunately, he’ll have to leave Hanzo by himself, and that’s not something he looks forward to.

“What are you going to do about Hanzo? Is it wise to leave him here by himself?” Jesse questions. No doubt the man can take care of himself in case of an emergency; the man’s skills were almost unmatched. 

Jesse’s more worried about if he has another episode like he did upstairs, pulling oneself out of a nightmare was never easy, to say nothing of the after effects. Also with what Jesse just learned about the brothers dragons, he really doesn’t want to come home to his safe house leveled. 

Genji shakes his head and slumps down. “I’m not keen on it, but we don’t have a choice. He can’t come with us; the last thing I need is for him to fall into Talon hands again,” he spits, hands clenched. 

“I’ll talk to him, we’ll be gone for thirteen hours at the most. If the worst happens, Kurama and Isobu will protect him.”

“And destroy my damn house.” Jesse mumbles. 

“Wait how’d Talon take him in the first place?” Jesse questions, but immediately regrets it as Genji turns an angry gaze on him. It’s an honest question, the way Genji described the dragons and from what he saw himself the dragons seemed unstoppable. It truly was a mystery how they were able to capture Hanzo, and from the angry in Genji’s face there was also a layer of confusion as well. He didn’t know either, huh?

“It’s just a question partner, what if they try the same thing on you,” Jesse reasons.

“I’ll be careful, plus I have you watching my back. Hanzo had nothing of the sort.”

“I guess you’re right, partner,” Jesse gives him a thumbs up, “So... raid Talon base, get evidence, come home. Sounds easy enough!” 

“I’ll let Han know tonight, it’ll be fine.” Genji finalizes.

Jesse nods, he stretches at the counter. He feels better knowing they’ve got some plan to work with. “Contingencies?”

“Soba.” Genji shrugs easily, as if he’s not worried at all the mission will go sideways. 

“If you’re sure…” Jesse says uncertain, not having a back up plan sounded like a terrible idea.

“It’s just you and me. Like I said, controlling Soba will be easier when my teammates aren’t scattered all over the place. We’ll be fine.” 

Genji stands and stretches. He stomach rumbles and regrets not taking Jesse up on his offer earlier. The cowboy comes around the counter, and clasps a hand on Genji’s shoulder. “Let’s do this then, partner!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took the liberty of giving them Tailed Beast names because the whole Spirit Dragon thing reminds me of being a Jinchuriki. Also, no noddle dragons in this fic, they’re full grown and when they appear they’ll be full grown. I also looked up why Hanzo has two dragons and its never explained in the game so I made one, I’d figured it make the most sense for Hanzo to have a dragon past down to him as tradition.


	5. ATTACK ON D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, long time no see! This chapter really was a pain to write, but it's finally finished. I would like to give a huge shout out to my beta ArchdukeToes, for heavily helping me edit and revamp this story. Before you read this chapter please take a chance to re-read the other chapters over again. Not much has changed but it will do you good to re-read what's been edited.

Genji wakes at exactly three am; he’d only been able to nap for a few hours but he’s more than ready for their mission. He glances over and sees Hanzo still sleeping soundly next to him. The archer was curled slightly away from him and onto a stray pillow. Genji slowly eases himself out of bed, careful not to disturb his brother and goes to the closet and pulls out his Dragonblade. It is still stained with old blood Genji hasn’t had time to clean off. He silently scolds himself for being so careless with his weapon. He slides the katana into place on his back.

He pulls a piece of paper from the nightstand and sets it on top, it's covered in the notes he’d written the day before. It details the conversation he had with Hanzo earlier, including who he and Jesse are to him as well as where he is. Just in case Hanzo forgets again, Genji really doesn’t need his brother having an episode when he’s nowhere to be found. He hopes the note at least centers Hanzo until he can return again. 

Telling Hanzo he was leaving was a lackluster affair; Hanzo didn’t react much other than nodding and looking past Genji. He didn’t ask where Genji was going, only if he was coming back. Genji decides not to feel too worried about this; Hanzo was never the type to grow too concerned over his absence and always trusted Genji would return eventually. He hopes it still rings true in his altered mental state. He omits precisely where he’s going, just in case Hanzo insists on accompanying them.

Leaving Hanzo is the last thing he wants to do, but he knows he doesn’t have a choice. Taking Hanzo with them is far too dangerous; too many things could go wrong and Genji knows if Hanzo falls into Talon's hands again it may be the last time he sees his brother. He’s still not sure how Hanzo was kidnapped in the first place, not with his skill set and the dragons he has at his disposal. Just more questions Genji hopes he will find the answers to.

He bends down and looks over his sleeping brother, “I will be back aniki.”

He grabs the mask off the nightstand he hasn’t put on in days and slips it onto his head, the cover clicks into place, a comforting weight on his face. 

He steps out the room, shutting the door with a soft click. Jesse waits for him at the bottom of the stairs. He is dressed in his regular cowboy get up with Peacekeeper ready and loaded at his waist. “We’ll be back before he knows it darlin’.” Jesse quips, immediately seeing the stiffness and uneasiness in Genji’s movements and posture.

He places a reassuring hand on Genji's shoulder, squeezing gently. “So, Santé Fe to Colorado about five hours, in this baby, I’ll get us there in three,” he says as they enter the garage. Under the bright lights of the small garage, Genji spots a car he can’t readily identify. It’s a pristine red, and looks as if it hasn’t been driven in ages.

“Meet Lily, Dodge Challenger Hellcat, the one and only woman who’s near and dear to my heart,” Jesse says dopily, gazing at the car like a kid on Christmas. Genji really does roll his eyes this time, walking around the car to sit in the passenger seat. 

Jesse snorts, hopping in the car as well. “Well, damn, you could at least act like you’re impressed.”

* * *

They’re only thirty minutes out from the base. Thanks to Jesse’s chaotic driving they’ve managed to get into Colorado in half the time, something Jesse is quite proud of. Genji sits quietly in the passenger seat, going over the data being rapidly displayed on the mask. 

“Finding anything useful, Robocop?” Jesse questions, eyes still focused on the road.

“I’ve got a few escape routes we can use if it comes to that. There’s a room on the third floor I want to look at as well.” Genji says distantly. 

Genji’s mask was like a video camera, recording every battle and mission and storing it, allowing them to replay it later. It had helped them on more than one occasion, picking up things they might have missed or overlooked. The mask also translates data in real time, showing Genji the status of his body, radars, heat signatures and targeting. He remembers Winston offering to implant a part of Athena in the helmet, but Genji had declined. The mask was a boon in Genji’s arsenal, along with the ninja’s natural skill sets.

“Any idea for how we're getting in? Guns blazing or we sneaking in? I know you wanted your dragon to clear it out, but still, we may have different options when we get there.”

Genji doesn’t respond for a few moments; information is still streaming across the inside of his mask. He’s used to reading and analyzing data in seconds, a feat that always impresses Jesse.

“Soba will handle it; I’ll have him leave a few of them alive so we can get some answers,” Genji replies as his mask fades out to a dull green glow.

This all sounds good to Jesse, he doesn’t mind the option that minimizes the fighting as much as possible. 

“Hopefully they’ll talk. I wasn’t really in the mood for torture today. Maybe the good old good cop bad cop routine will get their mouths running.” Jesse drawls, “Maybe it’ll be a young agent, those tend to always run their mouth without a filter to save their own skin.”

“They’ll talk, or they’ll die,” Genji says calmly. 

Jesse sneaks a glance from the corner of his eye. The ninja sounds nonchalant, but Jesse can hear just a hint of steel in his voice, and a promise of death if they don’t comply.

“Hold your horse's partner, they’ll talk. I’m very persuasive when I need to be,” Jesse assures. The man doesn’t need to go on a murderous killing spree to avenge his brother, not against some worthless Talon thugs. He doubts the ones behind the operation are even still at the base, and he’s seen with his own eyes how those racked with vengeance can lose themselves. 

He saw how it consumed Genji during Blackwatch, making the ninja borderline unstable. Jesse understands no one’s leaving the base alive, that’s a given. Though he doesn’t need Genji out for blood and not thinking clearly, that’s exactly how mistakes happen.

“No need to go crazy, Genji,” Jesse adds gently.

Genji hums not really responding, “wake me when we arrive.” He mummers, his mask and body fading out of the light green glow as he powers it down. 

* * *

They make it to the base in record time, Jesse slowly eases up the long winding road in the middle of nowhere just in case there's Talon parked in front of the base. The road is surrounded by trees and other foliage, providing excellent cover for the base. He parks the car a good distance from the base. 

The base itself is nothing spectacular, nothing about it looks out of the ordinary, except for the fact it’s in the middle of nowhere. The base is small, only three or four stories; the building also doesn’t have a single window, and Jesse only sees one door in. Jesse honestly expected the base to be as big as Overwatch, which leads him to believe this probably isn’t their main base of operations. In front of it is three armored Talon vehicles, the front of the base has a hole the size of a truck.

Jesse rouses Genji, who immediately wakes back up. “Are you ready?” Genji asks, stretching and exiting the car.

He throws Genji a broad smile and gives him a thumbs-up, “Ready when you are, cupcake.”

Genji stands in front of the car, eyeing the base and the surrounding area. 

“That big hole there on the side, you or Hanzo’s doing?” Jesse questions, taking his own stock of the area. 

“Kurama’s.” Genji says shortly. “no heat signatures outside, only inside though they're too far away to tell how many. I’ll have Soba take out the armed men; we’ll handle the rest.” 

Genji steps out in front of him, clasping his hands together and takes a deep breath. “Ryūjin no ken wo kūrae!”

Jesse watches in awe as the dragon materializes from his arm, becoming the vast green specter Jesse has only seen once. It’s as enormous Jesse remembers, long and narrow like the dragons Jesse’s seen in Japanese folklore. The ethereal dragon glows the same color green as Genji’s suit, almost blindingly bright. If he wasn’t so terrified he’d say the damn thing was beautiful. 

Soba turns, its colossal head looking at both Genji and Jesse. Jesse freezes, remembering how the dragons couldn’t tell friend from foe without Genji's help or something like that. He doesn’t even blink as Soba stares him down, head tilting as if a curious puppy. Though the curiosity is gone as quick as it was there.

Soba roars loudly, causing Jesse to fall back on his ass. The green beast cascades into the base. Once it’s out of sight Jesse whips his head around, glaring at Genji.

“He was simply curious about you,” Genji says strained, but Jesse can hear the amusement in his voice.

“Looked more like he wanted to eat me.” Jesse snorts, standing and brushing the gravel off his pants.

It doesn’t take long for Jesse to hear the screaming start from inside the base and the sound of gunfire, which Jesse knows is all but useless against the green beast. Jesse’s not sure how you even stop something like Genji’s dragon, something that can’t even be injured by conventional means. He doubts Genji would tell him, and he’s not foolish enough to ask his friend to reveal the weakness to his own trump card.

Genji is perfectly still and silent; his hand still clasped together, though they tremble slightly, and Jesse thinks this is what he means by guiding the dragons and how taxing it could be.

“Genji?” Jesse mumbles after a few minutes. Most of the screaming has stopped, and the gunfire has all but ceased. 

“I’m double-checking,” Genji says shortly. A few moments later, and one final roar echoes across the base and through the forest. “That’s all of them; let’s go.” 

“You alright?” Jesse asks, still seeing the strain on Genji's body.

“It's tiring, but I'm fine,” he says, “Let’s just focus on the mission. I left three alive; one of them is on the bottom floor, the rest are on the third. They’re in that room I was talking about earlier.” 

As they enter the base, Jesse immediately sees dead Talon agents scattered at the entrance and all over the lower floors. Some of the corpses are fresh while most are old. A few lie in motionless, twisted heaps, faces contorted in agony and blood dribbling from their mouths. Their uniforms and equipment are strangely spotless, though, with not even so much as a scuff mark to show their final struggles. While others are maimed and torn apart.

“Soba and Isobu wreak havoc on one’s internal organs,” Genji says, as if reading his mind. The torn apart agents are courtesy of Kurama.

“Yikes, remind me to never get on your bad side.” Jesse hears Genji huff a laugh as he walks past the mess. 

Jesse takes in the rest of the base, it's damaged beyond what Jesse thought it would be, the floor above them has a wide hole in it, the supports beams of some of the columns are ruined beyond repair, the floors burned and singed as if there was a small fire. Papers, glass, and guns scattered all around the ground, wires exposed above them. Furniture is overturned, burned, or just all around decimated. It’s as if a battle took place. 

“How the hell did y’all do all of this,” Jesse whispers in disbelief, this more looks like damage a large squad could do, not two brothers. 

“Kurama can materialize into a physical form, most of this damage is from him. He was… unstoppable.” Genji says with a shake of his head. “We escaped because of him, but he left the place in ruins.” 

Genji doesn’t mention that Kurama was out of control, to the point where Genji thought he’d destroy the base with them in it. Kurama had drained so much of Hanzo’s energy he almost had to carry his weakened brother out of the base, Genji had almost been at his limit as well while escaping.

Just when Jesse thought they couldn’t be even more of a powerhouse, though even with that tidbit of information, Jesse still wonders how Hanzo was also caught, let alone stayed under Talon control.

“So where’s the guy you left alive down here?” 

“Behind that door,” Genji points nonchalantly to the door hanging off its hinges. Jesse makes his way around the mess and leans on the door. With a ‘ping’ the hinges snap, and the door falls inwards and hits the ground with a loud ‘bang’. There is a startled squeak behind the charred desk in the room.

Genji goes to pull the blade off his back, but Jesse stops him, pressing a hand on the ninja’s chest, “Maybe we not scare him even more?”

The ninja pauses, his hand still on the hilt, but finally relents and nods.

“Good,” Jesse raises his voice, “Alright, come on out, we know you’re there!” 

The scientist, Jesse presumes, looks absolutely terrified as he rises from behind the desk. His once white lab uniform is now dirty with splatters of blood covering it. His hands are already raised above him in a gesture of surrender, though they shake terribly. The man looks young, and Jesse briefly wonders what the idiot’s doing working for Talon. 

“How about I do the talkin’ partner,” Jesse tells Genji. They don’t need their hostage freaked out even more. While he’s sure the kid will snap easily if they rough him up a bit, Jesse can see he’ll also talk if Jesse acts like he’s his friend.

“Now, now, now no reason to be all petrified,” Jesse smiles harmlessly. “Me and my partner here aren’t gonna kill you.” 

The agent looks at him incredulously, eyes darting over his dead fellow agents. Jesse can’t really blame him there, “Look, kid, We just want information. You give us information, you go free, easy, right? What’s your name, kid? We’re all friends here.” 

The man glances behind him at Genji, who Jesse has a feeling looks every bit like a murderous robot if the kid's expression is any indication. Yeah, he was pretty sure Genji wasn’t helping at all.

“R-Reese,” he gulps, looking like he’s on the brink of a panic attack. 

“Jesse McCree, at ya service. Now, Reese, how’s about you start off by telling us everything you know about this here base,” 

Reese gulps and shakes his head, “I-I can’t, Talon w-will kill me.” 

“You will die by our hand if you do not tell us what we wish to know,” Genji says, quite unhelpfully. This actually does throw Reese into a panic attack, and the young man suddenly starts hyperventilating and grabs pleadingly at Jesse’s chest.

“P-Please, I don’t want to die!” 

“Nobody’s killing anybody!” Jesse says sharply, more to Genji than to Reese. “Talon’s not gonna know you told us anything, so see? Nobody has to get killed, So let’s try again, this base? Tell us everything.”

“A-All I know is the base was housing a special asset to Talon, b-but he escaped a few days ago. We’re here to get what we can back from the base.”

“Hanzo Shimada, right?” Jesse questions.

“Y-Yeah.” 

Genji’s lips curl in disgust.

“Tell me everything you know about him, and please, darlin’, don’t leave anything out.” Jesse implores. Reese gulps, backing away from the two of them. 

“T-The scientists know more than me, they work directly under her. I’m just here to collect the research and data left here after he escaped.”

“Who’s she?” Jesse inquires. 

“I-I don’t know her actual name. Lady M, o-or something. She’s way above me, she was running this whole operation. That’s all I know.”

Jesse sighs, hands running down his face. “Is there anything you do know, kid?” 

“I-I know a little about the c-chip that was controlling the asset; I overheard them talking about it.” 

Jesse feels Genji stiffen beside him, and it feels as though the temperature in the room suddenly drops several degrees. Jesse moves in front of Genji, just in case the ninja loses his cool, he can’t afford for Genji to snap and make any rash decision. 

“What do you know about the chip?” Jesse pushes. If this is all they can get out the kid, he’ll take it.

“T-The chip keeps him in a trance, only obeying the orders of the person controlling him. They said it was like a barrier or something,” Reese explains, “It was still in its experimental stages, that’s all I know! But if the assets trying to kill y-you or something, then an EMP would deactivate the chip.” 

By now, Jesse’s seriously reconsidering letting Reese live. It's barbaric what they’ve done to Hanzo, and who even knows if he’s the only one. To think they’ve kept the man in some type of trance-like state all this time...was Hanzo aware of his actions at all? Did he even know what was going on while he was being controlled? Also, a chip powerful enough to keep Hanzo under their control like that had to have side effects. He wonders if the memory loss was one of them.

“You think he’s trying to kill us?” Jesse blinks. 

“W-Why else would you be here?” Reese’s eyes scrunch up in confusion. 

“Is that all you know about the chip?” Genji snarls from behind him, his voice ice cold, Jesse glances behind him, Genji is a ball of tension, his hands curled into fists at his side. Jesse couldn’t even imagine how he must feel to hear someone talk about his brother as if he was a thing, to listen to them speak about testing some experimental project on Hanzo. Even to Jesse, it’s gross, though he knows he should expect something like it from Talon.

“I-If you’re worried about his dragons d-don’t be, the c-chip cuts off his connection to them.” Reese sputters, completely misunderstanding Genji’s rage. If anything, Genji grows even more furious. 

‘How dare you, how-” Genji spits out, shaking with barely contained fury behind him, moving ever so slowly forward. “Do you even know what you’ve done?”

“Genji…” Jesse starts, moving an arm in front of him to stop the ninja from moving any closer. They may be able to get more information out of Reese.

“I-I told you all I know, you’ll let me go right?” Reese trembles in front of them, slowly skirting around the desk. 

Jesse only sees a flash of green and the meaty sound of tearing flesh. Suddenly Genji is in front of him, with his sword impaled in Reese’s chest. The man chokes and gasps for breath as blood pours from his mouth, the life slowly fades from his eyes. His body goes limp, then crumples to the ground.

Genji pulls his sword free, breathing deeply before flicking it to the side, removing the excess blood from the blade.

“Genji!” Jesse hisses in surprise, “A little warning woulda’ been nice.”

“He was Talon,” Genji hisses, his sword still tight in his hand. “You should have realized what would happen the minute he outlived his usefulness!”

“Partner,” Jesse starts cautiously, almost flinching at the anger and pain in his friend's voice.

“They cut off his connection to his dragons; you can’t even begin to imagine what...” Genji chokes out, shaking his head. He can’t even find the words to explain how devastating that must have been for Hanzo, how alone his brother must have felt. How scared he was to not have the protection of his dragons. 

The dragons were more than just tools at their disposal, they shared a bond with them. For Genji, Soba is a constant and comforting presence in the back of his mind. The times he spends mediating are the times he speaks with Soba, building and strengthening their bond. After being revived by Angela, and briefly not having his connection to Soba almost drove him mad; it was as if he wasn’t whole. 

“Are you good to keep going? I can interrogate the rest upstairs,” Jesse offers softly. He doesn’t understand anything about their connection to their dragons, only that cutting them off must be a grave offense. 

Genji tucks his sword on his back and strides past Jesse, “I’ll be fine.We have a mission to complete.” 

* * *

The second floor is just as decimated as the first, quite a few Talon agents are scattered around the floor, with doors blown off the hinges here and there. 

“We were… frantically trying to find a way out.” Genji says quietly, as he surveys the carnage. While he had finally managed to calm Hanzo down after removing the chip, his brother was no help in finding a different exit amid the chaos, with his planned escape route swarming with Talon. 

“Don’t let Overwatch find out you two are packing this much of a punch,” Jesse whistles, semi-serious in his advice. 

“Kurama and Isobu were almost vengeful in their destruction. They must have felt so angry being separated from Han. All this mayhem makes sense now,” Genji says quietly, “I should have gotten to him sooner, I should have protected him.” 

“Hey, let’s stop that line of thought before it even gets started. You did all you could partner, hell, you knew that something was wrong the minute you saw the footage, and you acted on it. There’s nothing more you could’ve done, and you’ve got him now Genji. Let’s just focus on that okay partner?” Jesse asserts, “Don’t run yourself ragged on coulda, shoulda, woulda’s.”

Genji doesn’t respond, but the tension in his shoulders eases as he walks down the hallway, so Jesse leaves it alone for now. The hallway they’re in is dark and badly damaged, with cracked concrete walls that have buckled and broken under the weight. Water seeps from damaged pipes, deep within, and sparks shoot from a busted cable swinging overhead.

At the end of the hall is a cell. It’s the only room in the entire hall. Hanging to the side is a huge door that looks earlier similar to a vault door. It’s clear as day they didn’t want Hanzo being even remotely able to leave. On the other side is a panel that connects to the door. It looks as if the lock requires a series of codes and numbers to unlock it. On the inside there’s only a bed, a toilet, and a sink. The room can’t be more than six by six, and Jesse can’t even think to consider someone living in there. 

Genji walks in front of him and into the cell, “this is where I found him.”

He bends down and picks up what looks like a tiny device from under the bed. It’s badly damaged, with the metal bent and wires partially sticking out. “This is the chip. Let’s go, I’ve seen enough.”

It’s clear that Genji doesn’t want to spend another minute down this hall if he doesn’t have too, and the minute he grabs the chip he’s out the hallway and up the next flight of stairs. He’s as stoic and quiet as he was downstairs and the tightness in his posture is back.

They walk into another hall, they stop in front of a heavily bolted door that’s partially cracked open. Around the door is a large number of dead agents. Jesse prays the evidence they need is behind the door.

As Jesse pushes the door in, he sees that the room is not as trashed as the rest of the base. It appears to be a laboratory, or something similar. There is a long table running down the centre, littered with papers and folders, and monitors run the length of one wall, hooked up to the computers below them. In the far corner is a work bench with a pair of large optical microscopes as well as half-finished pieces of circuitry. One the screens are live feeds of Hanzo’s room, some data Jesse can’t readily correlate and vital signs of someone on the last. The table is scattered with papers and folders, microscopes, and bits and pieces of technology lay about. The room was definitely used as some type of lab to monitor Hanzo, and maybe other prisoners.

There’s a clatter from the far corner, and Jesse spots two agents, scientists from their clothes, huddled into a corner. They all but try to merge with the wall as they catch sight of Jesse and Genji. 

The ninja clenches his fist at his side, they were watching him, watching him and analyzing him like some type of lab rat.

“What’s the data on the screen?” Jesse orders, snapping at the terrified scientist. Jess feels no sympathy for them at how they cower from them, he’d bet Peacekeeper on the fact they didn’t care how Hanzo felt. 

“I-It’s the asset’s vital signs, and data from the control chip.” One of the scientists stammers. On one of the monitors the word ‘disconnected’ flashes in bright red on the screen.

“Why were you monitoring him like this?”

“The control chip is experimental; we couldn’t risk him breaking control and gaining control of his dragons.” Jesse scoffs at them in distaste, they couldn’t risk a man escaping for his life, escaping from this hell.

Jesse glances at Genji, who stares at the monitors in front of him, unmoving, and Jesse can tell he’s a ticking time bomb. There’s nothing to be said, not now. He can’t come up with anything that would make Genji feel better in the slightest.

“P-Please take all the data you need, just don’t kill us! All the information’s on those hard drives!” The agent pleads, pointing at the drives on the computer.

“Now, now, bad scientist, bad.” A voice rings out playfully on the monitors, scolding the scientist as if you would a dog, and Jesse instantly recognizes that voice. 

Sombra.

“I should have expected to encounter at least one of Talon’s finest rats here.” Jesse drawls, hand on his gun just in case things turn sour. Sombra is the most unpredictable of Talon’s top members, not to mention that handy teleportation device of hers has caused him more than his fair share of trouble. The screens flicker suddenly, and now shows Sombra’s face, a faint smirk gracing her lips as if she finds the entire thing funny.

“Ah nice to see you too McCree, and there’s the other brother. How adorable, coming to get whatever information he can. I wish someone cared about me that much.” Sombra says, with an over-exaggerated pout.

“What do you want, Sombra?” Jesse asks. 

“To help, of course! Well, more so gather a few favors down the line.”

“We will _never_ help Talon,” Genji says through clenched teeth. He’s clearly itching to destroy the monitors and get the irritating woman off the screen. Out of all of them, Sombra annoys him the most; she’s unpredictable, and Genji hates people he can’t anticipate.

“How rude, Genji! I’ve already helped you. You can’t help me as well?”

“What are you talking about?” Jesse challenges.

“Why, who do you think told Genji where Hanzo was in the first place?” Sombra chuckles. “Maybe the name ‘Emma’ jogs your memory?” 

Genji stiffens beside him, “Why would you help me?” 

Ah, so that was Genji’s source he was so tight-lipped on, it’s clear the man didn’t know he was talking to Talon, let alone Sombra. The fact it is Sombra makes it all the more confusing! Why would she help Genji in recovering his brother? Hanzo was clearly important to Talon, and Sombra was a shining member of the organization. It didn’t make any sense.

“As I said, you can never have too many people who owe you a favor,” Sombra says, waving her hand as if it’s not important. “Come on, this isn’t on behalf of Talon, my friend, this is on behalf of Sombra. At least hear the deal before you turn me down. Now, right now, I’m just helping you out, then when the time comes, you help me out. If you agree, I’ll erase all the footage of Hanzo and Genji’s little rescue and escape, that should keep Zoolander safe for a little while, yeah?”

It only buys them a little more time, someone could have survived their escape attempt or a stray camera could have captured them. They only have so much time before Talon finds out it was Genji who freed Hanzo, assuming they already didn’t know.

“So you buy us a little more time, so what? What’s in it for you, why are you betraying Talon?” Jesse asks. 

“I don’t work for Talon; I work for myself. Not to mention my reasons are my own McCree, I’ve already helped you once before, correct? Of course, I could wipe those hard drives clean and alert Talon to where you are if you’d prefer, I’ve been cutting off communication so far as _another_ gesture of goodwill.”

“You have a deal.” Genji interjects quickly. They can’t afford to lose whatever is on those hard drives, “if you betray us Sombra, I _will_ kill you.” 

Sombra chuckles but nods, “I don’t doubt you will. Well, a deal’s a deal. Do me a favor and kill those two before you leave, yeah. Be seeing ya? Ciao.” 

The monitors go dark, and Genji turns murderously towards the scientists.

“P-Please don’t kill u-” Genji’s arm flickers out, and the scientist’s plea is cut off with a shrill scream, and then silence. The scientists slump backwards together, blood seeping around the shurikens lodged in their heads. Without a word, Genji walks to grab the two hard drives from off the computer. 

“You doing okay?” Jesse says hesitantly. He’s not sure if making a deal with Sombra is a good idea, but it’s not as if they have or had much of a choice. 

“Let’s get back to my brother, McCree.”

* * *

The trip back to the car is tense and silent. Jesse makes a few abortive attempts to say something, anything to his best friend. The ninja stalked ahead, his shoulders knotted like steel, and when he finally clambered into the car he slammed the door hard enough to rattle it down to the bolts. 

Jesse is woefully unprepared when minutes into the car ride, Genji removes his mask to reveal tears streaming down his face. Great sobs rack his frame, and he doesn’t try to hold them in. Each sob sounds like it's being ripped from his chest. Jesse doesn’t say anything. He keeps driving, letting Genji release all his frustration and anger. He could comfort Genji right now, but he recognizes when some people need to just let loose, he can only feel honored that Genji feels comfortable enough to do so with him. He’s seen Genji cry plenty of times, but never like this. 

He speaks when he’s ready. The pain and sorrow on his face makes Jesse want to cry with him. 

“I’m sorry for losing it back there,” Genji says once the worse of his sobbing subsides. It's only been a few minutes but Genji looks worn out as if he’s cried for hours, and he’s subdued in a way Jesse doesn’t like hearing from the man.

“Don’t make me punch a crying man Gen, don’t apologize for anything. Let’s just get home.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do tell me what you guys think so far, this chapter kicked my butt for some odd reason so please let me know if you enjoyed it! If you guys noticed I've added my own lore about the dragons into the story, the Spirit Dragons are such a fascinating subject that I wish they'd hurry up and expand more on.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very much appreciated, any constructive criticism as well. This was suppose to be a one shot, but my mind is going places folks.


End file.
